As we all know every project starts with a plan. It is crucial to have a roadmap to guide you on any endeavour that you plan to undertake. As it is said, if you don’t have a plan then you plan to fail. Of course, we need to have a plan that depicts your objectives and incorporates your time and resources. Then you start to execute the plan.
The System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is the overall process of developing IT systems through a multi-step process. There are many different models and methodologies, each consisting of a series of defined steps. Some of these include waterfall, fountain, spiral, build and fix, rapid prototyping, incremental, and synchronize and stabilize.
The oldest of these, and the best known, is the waterfall model: a sequence of stages in which the output of each stage becomes the input for the next.
* Project planning, feasibility study
* System Analysis, Business Requirements definition
* System Design
* Implementation
* Integration and testing
* Acceptance, installation, deployment
* Maintenance
However, in the real world, there are complexities, and the waterfall model may not be indicative of the true process, and hence, project plans which follow the waterfall model would appear to be behind schedule. That is why other models sprang up — they recognize the inevitability of an imperfect world.
What is your experience with the waterfall model? Have you had success following a project plan?
Tune in next week and we will discuss other project plan models.
Article by Carol Donohue
